


Dried Flowers

by firefly61257



Category: The Ascendance Series - Jennifer A. Nielsen
Genre: Gen, One Shot, Takes place before TST but after TRK
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 05:55:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30118167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefly61257/pseuds/firefly61257
Summary: Serena founds out about the flowers Imogen planted.
Relationships: Serena & Imogen





	Dried Flowers

Serena looked at the stacks of bowls and frowned. It was a week since Imogen left. So many things had changed. Jaron was the pirate king now, and Erick would be in charge while he was gone. It was a hot afternoon, and the other girls went to clean. The task of cleaning the dishes would be hers alone. 

She recalled a memory of when Imogen came here. She had volunteered to get some water for cooking. After she came back to where she stood, waiting for her, they realized they had needed more water. 

“I’ll go this time,” Serena said. 

Imogen had bit her lip, but she nodded. Serena passed by the kitchen and where they kept the knives. 

She had always admired the clean blades. Sharp and shiny, they were useful for kitchen work. But she noticed that something looked wrong. One of the knives was missing. Could Imogen have stolen it? 

Still, she wasn’t in the mood to tell Devlin. The last thing she wanted was for her new friend to get whipped. And a lot of people could have passed by. There was no reason it couldn’t be a different servant girl. 

Serena shook the memory out of her head. She had a job to do. Reaching for the tub of water, she smoothed her fingers on the insides of the first bowl, rubbing the visible grime out of it. Then she grabbed a sand cloth and polished it until it looked like new. 

She repeated this process for a few more of the bowls, washing the inside, the outside, and even the bottom. 

Suddenly, she was curious. Could Imogen have really stolen the knives? Why did she plant flowers around? Yes, she said it beautified the place, but could it be something more? The pounding, the question marks in her head... 

Leaving the rest of the stack untouched, she ventured out to where she remembered Imogen putting flowers. Now, the brown, crusty petals have all withered and dried in the sun. 

Soil, she thought. She knew a thing or two about plants. The soil here was not the best for planting. 

The flowers didn't belong here. 

She wasn’t sure why, but Serena dug her fingers into the soil next to the flower. She felt the roots at her fingertips. Then she felt, down below, something... smooth? It was cool, and it relieved her fingers from the hot soil. 

It certainly wasn’t a rock. 

She removed the clump of soil with the flower roots tangled in it. Then she saw something metal. Wiping her hands on her clothes, she dug around the blade, revealing a kitchen knife. She took it out and placed it on the ground. Then she put the dried blooms back in the soil. 

So that’s where all the knives went. 

She smiled slightly. Imogen planted those knives for Jaron. She knew he’d need them. 

And now what was she doing? Did she go back to the palace with Jaron? Would they eventually marry? Were they just friends? Was she still in danger from Carthya’s enemies? 

Serena stood up, and walked back to the tub. She washed her hands. Once they were clean, she started washing the bowls, one by one, again.


End file.
